Project: Zero and the rise of the Mavrick Hunters
by Sargent Toughie
Summary: When Doctor Wily unleashes Zero into the world, The red bot only has one objective: To kill Megaman. See what happens in this story full of violence, drama, and betrayal. The hundred year gap between Megaman and Megaman X is finally explored
1. Zero

// This is my first Fanfic, I have really been looking forward to writing on this website ever since a friend of mine recommended it to me. I would really appreciate constructive feedback, as I plan on writing for the foreseeable future.

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Dr. Wily's rage grew with each creation of his that Megaman destroyed. Even his prized duo, Bass and Tremble, were getting beaten time after time. It never mattered how many bots or machines that Wily built, Megaman always showed up and put his plans to a painful and explosive end. Wily eventually grew tired of this endless cycle, and so he sealed himself away in his hidden lab, to spend as much time as it took to insure his next creation would be flawless.

He called it: Project Zero

......................

Megaman let out a delighted laugh as he and Rush performed a mid-air barrel roll. It has been five years since Wily had done evil, and Megaman was confident that the doctor had learned his lesson. Tonight, he was out enjoying the cool air under the pale glow of the moon and the stars. Since he wasn't busy fighting, he was able to go out on a few midnight rides. Megaman loved the thrill of flying with his dearest companion, and was expecting another peaceful end to his flight.

Expectations fall short all too often, Megaman realized this when a ball of energy rocketed up at him from below, smashing Rush and causing him to plummet to the city below. With a desperate cry towards his friend, Megaman was thrown off of Rush by the furious winds that lashed at the pair as they picked up speed on their descend. While Megaman fell, he could only call out his companion's name, seeing the red dog fall in the opposite direction, going farther and farther away.

However, he was forced to put rush out of his mind the moment that he met the ground. As he got close, Megaman spun in the air and landed on his feet. the shock of the sudden stop rung through his body for a few moments, and he fell onto one knee, succumbing to disorientation. With a shake of his head, Megaman recovered his wits, he returned to his feet and laid eyes on a figure that stood in front of him.

The figure wore a deep red armor, with blond hair that fell down to his ankles, shadow provided by the night sky blocked the rest of his features. Megaman's eyes fell down to the figure's left hand and saw a buster gun fold back into his arm. It was dangerously similar to Megaman's own arm, which made Megaman more than a little nervous. The figure's hand reached to it's side, and he pulled out a blade made of pure energy, the blue glow of his sword sliced through the Night's shadow, giving his armor a dangerous glow as he rose it to arm level.

Megaman took a step back, he locked his eyes on the figure and resisted a shudder as he spoke up

"Wh- who are you?"

The figure made his response, his body motionless

"Zero"

Hearing him speak caused Megaman to pause, something about Zero gave him a strange sense of familiarity. As though the two of them had met before, even though Megaman knew that he had never met this guy before in his life. When Zero emerged from the shadow, Megaman stood in shock as he laid eyes on an all to familiar logo, which was planted in Zero's forehead.

"Doctor Wily! He made you!"

From that moment on, Megaman knew exactly what Zero's intent was. It became clear that he was created for the sole purpose of ending Megaman's life. Dr. Wily had been busy over the last few years, that much was for certain, Megaman realized that he was foolish to believe that Wily would ever learn his lesson. Megaman turned to the side and brought out his buster gun, aiming it at Zero.

"Alright then, Zero, let's do this!"

A few pellets of energy suddenly rang out of Megaman's buster, heading towards Zero. Without so much as a flinch, Zero swung his blade into them, causing the shots to dissipate into the air harmlessly. Zero then went on the attack by sprinting forward and bringing his blade down in an overhead slash. Megaman's response was kicking off his feet and flipping backwards, he pressed his hands against the earth when his upper body got within a few inches of the ground and pushed off in order to finish the back flip. The moment that his feet met the earth, Megaman fired several more small shots at Zero, who was three sword swings away from being out of harm's way.

As Megaman predicted, Zero effortlessly cast aside the tiny pellets wiht his blade. But before he could go on the counterattack, Megaman ran to Zero's left side, his armor changing color as he activated one of his favorite powers.

"Flash bomb!"

A grenade shaped ball emerged from his buster, heading towards Zero. Zero's left hand rose as his buster emerged, and he fired at the grenade as it closed in on him. This action was a mistake that Megaman was counting on, as the grenade burst into a blinding flare erupted from the ball, trapping Zero in it. The flare only lasted a few seconds, but by the time Zero could see again, Megaman's body was glowing with yellow energy. Megaman's buster arm rose, and he used his other arm to hold it in support.

"We're done!"

A gargantuan ball of energy forced it's way out of Megaman's buster, ripping through the air around it as it blazed a path towards Zero. Still suffering from the aftershock of the flash bomb, Zero barely had enough time to get his blade into the path of Megaman's shot. The resulting clash lasted for several seconds, as Megaman's favored attack battled against Zero's strength and will. After a few seconds, Zero began to relent, and Megaman was already celebrating his victory. Zero was groaning in discomfort and loosing ground, but with a shout of resistance, Zero gained a second wind and sliced the blast half. Without pause, Zero charged at Megaman, aiming to cut off the arm that sent the powered shot at him. Megaman, shocked at Zero's power, had to spin himself desperately out of the way of the attack at the last moment, he could feel the wind rush past his arm as he dodged the blade by mere centimeters. Megaman's disorientation resulted in him stumbling a few moments before he could recover his footing.

Before Megaman could regain his composure, a ball of energy blasted into his chest, knocking him to the ground with a violent smash. The source of the shot was Zero's buster, who smirked as he approached the downed Megaman. His blade rose into the air, and with a content laugh he brought it down towards Megaman, aiming for the killing blow. Megaman couldn't move, his chest injury pinned him to the ground as the blade came down. He shut his eyes, unable to fight back as his death fell ever closer at the hands of Dr. Wily's most powerful creation to date.

The blade never hit Megaman, his eyes opened in dismay as he heard the pained yelp of a certain dog. Zero's saber was lodged in the back of Megaman's dearest friend and companion, Rush. The dog had thrown his body into the path of the blade in order to save Megaman, even at the cost of his own life. Zero dug his saber in deeper, and with a grinding sound that stabbed into Megaman's gut, he cleaved Rush clean in half. Zero rose his blade with an annoyed glare, striking down at again, but this time, Megaman moved. His feelings took over, pushing such things as pain out of his mind as he rolled to the side of the attack and bounced to his feet. Megaman glared at Zero, for the first time in his life, the blue soldier could feel anger and rage. The only thing that filled his thoughts was grinding Zero into dust, the only things that his mind set upon was avenging Rush.

Zero regained his composure and stood up straight, almost curious to see what Megaman would do. Megaman's armor started shifting in color again, as he prepared to use the most destructive attack in his entire arsenal.

"This is... for Rush... Astro Crush!!!"

Meteors suddenly fell from the sky, showering the world below with enough destructive force to tear apart an entire city. Megaman glowed with energy as he called forth burst after burst of Meteors with the sole intent of crushing Zero into nothing but scrap metal.

Zero looked up in shock, he jumped backwards out of the way of a first meteor, kicked himself to the left of a second one, but that was as far as he got. He had accidentally thrown himself into the direct decent path of a third meteor, and by the time that he realized his mistake, the massive rock was only inches away from his face. His blade went up on instinct, as if it had the power to protect him from the fury of Megaman's attack.

The sound of a painful scream filled Megaman's ears, and the energy faded away from his body. He fell to his knees, his feet were unable to support his body. His breathing grew heavy as he looked up at the wreckage he caused, he had completely obliterated everything in the immediate area, the whole city block was utterly destroyed. His eyes widened in a mixture of sorrow and confusion as he saw a figure slowly approach him. The shape of the armor and the flow of the hair were burned into his mind forever, but there was no sword in his hand. How Zero was still moving was a fact that was beyond the reach of both fighters.

His right arm hung limp at his side, borderline severed from the rest of his body. His eyes held a mixture of fury and disorientation, his left hand was the form of a buster, and was the most frightening sight that Megaman could imagine. His right leg pushed off the ground and send his left leg forward, and then his left leg returned the favor as he made his way to Megaman, who didn't even have the strength left to properly stand. Zero stood in front of Megaman, his left arm rose and the buster pressed against Megaman's head, there would be no disputing the fight's conclusion this time.

The sound of a Buster shot rang out in the night sky, and Megaman's body fell to the ground, lacking the presence of his head.

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Mission accomplished, as I said before, I would love feedback about my writing and anything else you have to say.


	2. Defiance

So I'm back with a second chapter, for those of you who have issues with the fact that I sort of killed Megaman in chapter 1, just understand that I've got some big things planned, and I'm going with my own theory on the subject.

In any case, this will most likely be the shortest of my chapters, as it's nothing more than an arc into the violence-fest that chapter 3 is going to be.

so let's get started

**Chapter 2: Defiance**

Chapter 2: Defiance

Dr. Light was watching the screen closely, he had linked Megaman's vitals into a program at the lab, so that he could constantly watch Megaman's vital systems and ensure his safety. It was clear from the readings on Megaman's energy loss that he was in a fight, a close one at that. Dismay clawed into his heart as Light saw Megaman's head flare red, followed quickly by his entire body fading to black. Roll approached him from behind, slightly unnerved by Light's behavior.

"Dr. Light, what's the matter?"

Dr. Light turned to her, sitting limp in his chair, half in depression and half in shock.

"Megaman... is dead"

Roll's eyes widened, she couldn't possibly imagine the words passing through her ears.

"Wh- What!?"

Dr. Light didn't respond right away, he opened a drawer near the bottom of his desk and pulled out a large blueprint, he looked over and handed the paper to Roll.

"Listen to me, we don't have much time Roll. Take this and run to the you know where."

Roll accepted the blueprints out of instinct, she entered a battle against a couple of tears as she spoke back

"What about you. You can't be thinking about staying here."

A new screen popped up on Dr. Light's computer, and he began to type up something on the keyboard, but from Roll's angle, she couldn't see what it was.

"I'll only be delayed for a little while, so go on a head of me, okay"

Roll's tears forced their way out of her eyes, she thought about arguing, but she knew better than anybody that when Dr. Light wanted something done, it got done. It could be argued that only Dr. Light's persistence in creating new and more powerful tools for megaman was the only reason that the blue soldier fought for as long as he did. Roll clutched the blueprint tighter as she turned away, she began to run away, openly weeping as she left the lab. Dr. Light looked at her in sorrow as she left, speaking under his breath.

"I'm sorry, but for the sake of the future... I must get this done"

And so Dr. Light began to work on something new.

.........................

Zero woke up in shock, he fainted shortly after his battle with Megaman. His first instinct was to reach for his blade, but reasoning quickly overpowered instinct as he remembered that megaman had broken his blade with that asteroid attack he uesd. Zero swiftly sat up, realizing that he was in a dark factory. It was dimly lit, so Zero could only see a few feet in any direction. He also realized that he was fully repaired, which gave Zero the idea that somebody had found him on the street, brought him into this factory, and fully repaired him.

At this point, Zero's mind fell upon a far more powerful realization. Somebody had given him the ability to think freely. When he was created by Dr. Wily, the Doctor had made Zero a mindless husk, a powerful bot who's only reason for existing was to obey Wily's every order to the letter. But at this moment, Zero was thinking, he was creating thoughts of his own. This realization gave Zero a great deal of happiness, when he now realized exactly how boring it is to be a mindless droid, regardless of how powerful he was. He was mulling on this revelation when a voice spoke out towards him.

"Finally awake? It took you long enough"

Zero looked around the darkness, he saw the figure of a bot approach the table Zero was sitting on. This figure stepped out into the light, revealing primarily black armor, with a touch of gold around the head and arms. Zero had never met this person before, but his instincts told him that he was a certain person that Wily had burned into Zero's mind, a bot that was supposed to be avoided at all cost.

"So, you're Bass"

"and you're Zero, the one that finally took down Megaman"

Zero's body tensed up, he knew for certain that he would never be able to trust this guy, but for now, Bass seemed stable enough.

"What do you want? I can only assume revenge?"

Bass let out a light laugh at this, responding after he stopped

"Good one, I only regret that I wasn't the one to kill the little pest. I've been left with little choice but to hide away for the last few years."

"I don't care, what do you want?"

Bass crossed his arms, annoyed by Zero's bluntness, he quickly began to match it in a mean voice.

"I fix you up and give you a brain, and the first thing you do is yell at me, just shut up and listen to what I have to say, you're going to like it"

Zero crossed his arms, and he realized exactly how much he and Bass had in common. He didn't respond, so it took a few seconds for Bass to realize that this was Zero's cold request for him to continue.

"You and I have the potential to be the most feared duo this world has ever imagined, work with me, and the two of us will have the entire world bowing to us."

"... Go on"

"There are a pair of doctors that stand as our biggest obstacles. Light and Wily, as soon as those two are out of the way, we're home free"

"What's your plan"

"Tremble and I will head over to Light's cabin and put him away, I'll leave Wily to you"

"Wily's base is going to be heavily guarded, you're giving me the short end of the stick here, partner"

Bass began to tap the back of his head, glaring at Zero with a pair of eyes dark enough to kill

"That man can turn me into a walking bomb at any moment, I'm not able to openly attack him"

Zero scowled as he got to his feet and turned towards the door.

"That's a poor excuse, you repaired me and gave me free thought, buy you can't remove a small explosive chip?"

Bass' eyes widened, he took a step towards Zero

"You don't-"

Zero took several steps towards the door, before turning his neck to address Bass

"I'll go along with this little scheme of yours, but remember this... We're not friends"

Zero opened the door to the factory and exited, leaving Bass alone to think about the future. One that would hopefully have no place for a pair of annoying inventors that have bothered Bass since the day of his creation.

**end**

And that's all I'm doing for chapter 2, like I said, it's an arc chapter. Next time: **Chapter 3: Destruction**

thanks for reading

-Sargent Toughie


	3. Destruction

Here's chapter 3, and I'm now completely out of pre-written material, so the dead time in between updates is likely to grow a great deal, but in any case. This chapter is my longest yet, by far.

hope you enjoy it!

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**Chapter 3: Destruction**

Bass rode atop Tremble as the duo made their way to Doctor Light's lab, the whole ride there, he couldn't think about anything other than Zero. That guy was strong, no question about it, and for the time being, Bass knew that Zero would be more than able to take care of Doctor Wily, but after that, Bass knew that their partnership would be nothing more than a furious race to see which of them could betray the other first. For Bass' sake, he had to win that race.

..................................

"Sorry, but I'm leaving with you, or not at all"

Protoman relaxed against a wall in Light's lab, the doctor looked at him with a hopeless smile.

"Protoman, you don't need to worry about me, just get somewhere safe"

"You first, doc"

Dr. Light returned to his work, whatever he was working on, Protoman knew it had to be important, for him to put his life in danger to finish it. Both of them had a feeling that whoever had killed Megaman was likely on their way here. Light was risking his life for this project, so Protoman was determined to stay by his side and ensure that it got done. The two of them were in the basement, both playing with the idea of getting the other to leave. Light had given Protoman a sense of pride and determination for situations just like this. Protoman would do what he thought was right, regardless of what his creator wanted.

The room went silent for several minutes, the only sound was the clacking of Light's keys as they pressed into the keyboard while he did his work. Protoman was just starting to let down his guard in boredom when a massive bang erupted from the main level, Protoman smirked at this sound, pushing himself off of the wall.

"We've got a guest, I'll be right back"

Protoman then calmly ascended the stairs to the main level, where he saw a very familiar black clad duo.

"Bass, I find it hard to believe that you were the one that killed Megaman"

Bass was riding on top of tremble, floating in the air. He aimed his buster down at Protoman, scowling. Protoman could tell that he had pushed a button.

"Afraid not, blame Wily's new toy for that one, now get out of my way!"

Protoman pulled the shield off of his back, turning his other hand into a buster.

"You already know that's not going to happen"

"Force of habit"

Protoman wasn't listening, be brought his buster out from behind his shield, and the first shot was fired.

....................................

Zero approached a massive tower, Wily had moved back in shortly after he sent Zero out to find Megaman. It would have been easy for him to pretend loyalty until he reached Wily, easy, but not fun at all. As he got close to the tower, Zero suddenly broke into a grin and threw himself through a window. His arm became a buster and he fired a few shots at the ceiling, laughing.

"Doctor Wily! Today is the day you die! hahaha!"

Several defense droids charged up, pointing small blasters at Zero. His response was mere laughter as he spun to the side and fired several rounds from his arm, each of them meeting the chests of the weak and poorly built droids. The ensuing wreckage caused Zero to laugh even more, he looked directly into one of the security cameras, rising his arm to aim it at the camera, wearing an insane grin.

"Is that it? You'll be dead soon Wily!"

With those words, Zero shot out the camera, the last sound to pass through it was laughter.

..........................................

Bass flew atop Tremble, dodging Protoman's shot. While still moving, he returned the attack with full automatic fire. Protoman ducked down behind his shield, which did an excellent job of covering his entire body when he ducked down. Bass wasn't worried, because Tremble gave him mobility that Protoman simply couldn't match. Bass moved his way around Protoman's shield and kept the rapid fire shots pressing into it. Protoman's counterattack was swift when he realized this was happening, he kept the shield to block most of his body as he rose into a crouching stand. Running swiftly he darted to Bass' side, he brought out his arm and fired at Bass' chest.

Bass and Tremble were quick to respond as the swerved gracefully out of the path of the shot. However, his head came dangerously close to meeting the ceiling. He desperately avoided it by throwing his weight backwards, an action which sent him farther out of control. Protoman realized that he would have to be an absolute idiot to miss a chance to hit Bass like this. He fired again, and this time, his bulled hit his airborne foe.

.......................................

Zero tore a large metal pipe out of one of the walls, deciding that it would function just fine as a weapon. He was currently making his way up a gargantuan flight of stairs, which led to the top level of the tower. Once he was in possession of the pipe, he continued to charge up the stairs at full speed. He was eager to be done with the stairs, but not because of fatigue. Zero craved violence, he wanted to smash the pipe in his hand into a few unlucky bots, and eventually Doctor wily.

After what seemed like a lifetime, Zero hit the top of the stairs, fatigue had no effect on the adrenaline that was now flowing through his body, it was time for the slaughter to begin again. Zero grinned in delight as he rammed against the door, slamming it to the ground violently.

"Knock Knock!"

The room that Zero broke into was massive, stretching for hundreds of feet in a rectangle. There was an elevator across the room from Zero, Wily stood just in front of it. In between the two of them were countless numbers in countless rows of combat bots. The army of bots rose their blasters in unison as Doctor Wily spoke with a dark laugh.

"Zero, I never thought you could betray me."

A grin broke across Zero's face, he violently swung the pipe in his hand as he spoke back.

"These cheap jokes won't protect you for more than one minute!"

"We'll see, won't we?"

Doctor Wily stepped backwards into the elevator, and it took him away to a higher level. The droids began to fire, and Zero charged into the sea of bullets and cheap droids.

...................................

Bass was thrown off of Tremble as Protoman's shot smashed against his leg. He planted his good leg against the ground and fell onto one knee. He looked up to see Tremble circling around Protoman, attacking his left flank. He watched as Protoman turned his attention to the dog, planting his shield in Tremble's path. Bass smirked as he fired his nonstop shots at Protoman's open side. the bullets struck the side of Protoman's stomach, sending him to the ground. With a disoriented roll, he got behind a pillar and shot at Bass again. Bass threw himself behind another close by pillar, using nothing more than upper body strength After Protoman's bullet flew past, Tremble ran over to Bass' side, he let out a confident chuckle, Bass was done playing around.

Protoman was tending to his injury, injecting an experimental 'energy tank' into the side of his stomach where Bass had shot him. Almost instantly, Protoman's wound became enveloped in healing energy, making his pain a thing of the past. Protoman made a mental note to tell Doctor Light that his most recent scientific breakthrough was a roaring success. Unfortunately, Protoman wasn't allowed to calibrate this small victory for very long, as a shock wave of raw dark power tore through the lab, making it's way towards Protoman at great speed. he jumped from his cover smoothly, expecting Bass to attack in some form. He placed his shield where it covered most of his body and looked out at his enemy.

Bass had made the most predictable move, and merged with Tremble into one, very powerful, form. Although this action was dangerously predictable, it was still big trouble for Protoman. Bass now contained more than enough power to eliminate Protoman without so much as a struggle, meaning that Protoman had little choice but to get creative. Before Bass had time for a second strike, Protoman threw his shield at him. Bass quickly clobbered the shield, taking his eyes off of Protoman.

.........................................

Zero now stood atop a small mountain of broken robots, making the room where the violence took place looking like a small junkyard. The pipe that Zero took into the room became a useless lump about a third of the way through the slaughter, not that Zero cared, he got quite a bit of enjoyment out of smashing those useless heaps of metal with his bare hands. Stepping over pile after pile of rubble, Zero made his way to the elevator that would take him up to Wily's final hiding place. Zero chose not to wait for the elevator to descend, he used his buster to create a new door instead. Once in the shaft, Zero looked up to see the box cart free falling down at him. It was clear that Wily had cut the cable in a last, desperate attempt to to kill off Zero.

Without even flinching, Zero rose his buster and let out as many shots as he could as the box plummeted towards him. When it got to the point where Zero would have been crushed, he made a hole in the bottom of the box so large that he didn't even have to move an inch when the box smashed into the ground, collapsing into a useless heap almost instantly and leaving Zero unharmed.

Doctor Wily was officially a dead man.

.......................................

Doctor Light could feel the tremors from the furious battle that was taking place upstairs. Protoman was fighting valiantly, and bout Light enough time to complete his project. That was only the first part of Light's mission, so he began to transfer the files to one of his several hidden labs. He knew that the odds of his little home getting blasted apart were extremely high, and the program he created had to survive even if he himself did not. To ensure that this would happen, he sent them to the lab that was farthest away from everything that could do them harm.

_transfer- 100%. Request complete_

Dr. Light had won, he gave Roll the vital blueprints and the hidden lab the essential program. The future was set in stone, all that was left was to hope for a miracle in the form of Protoman's victory.

...............................................

The elevator door became ripped apart, Zero lept out of the shaft into Wily's private sanctuary. The doctor was sitting in his chair, facing away from Zero, who began to approach him. As Zero got close, Wily began to speak.

"Who? Who gave you a will of your own? Who gave you the idea to betray me?"

Zero was hoping that the doctor asked that question, Zero and Bass both knew that their relationship was a betrayal race. It was a race that Bass was destined to lose right from the start.

"It was Bass"

"I was hoping you would say that"

Wily revealed a small handle, a black button in the shape of a skull pressed out of the top. Around the button was a small glass casing, to prevent it from being pressed by accident.

"I refuse to die alone."

Doctor wily flicked off the glass casing, Zero simply stood back and watched, delighted by the current situation.

......................................

Protoman fired at the distracted Bass, the response came quickly as Bass smacked away the shot with his bare hand. Bass then sent another wave at Protoman, who was making a mad dash for his shield. his hand met the shield, but he barely had time to get it up before the shock wave struck. The attack sliced Protoman in half at the waist, leaving him helpless on the ground.

Bass stepped up to Protoman's upper body, laughing.

"Done already?"

Protoman's arm rose as he tried to mass together enough energy to fire another blast. Before he could, Bass' eyes grew wide and he grabbed at the back of his head.

"Zer-"

The whole lab became the source of an explosion that wa visible for miles.

.......................................

Roll watched in horror, she was all that remained. She was the last creation by Doctor Light to remain operational, she was alone. She tightened her grip on the blueprint in her hands, it was Doctor Light's last legacy, and roll had every intention on bringing whatever was inside to life. She arrived at the hidden lab safely, flicking on the lights. Pushing personal grief aside, she tossed the blueprints onto a table and took a look at the contents for the first time.

"Project: Megaman X..."

Roll paused for a moment at the name, and she began to get to work.

......................................

Doctor Wily's body hit the ground, without a second glance Zero turned his back and left the tower. Things couldn't have gone more according to plan, with one move Zero had gotten rid of everything that stood a chance of standing against him. The world now belonged to Zero, and any who would say otherwise would feel a slow death.

**end**

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Like I said, that's all I've got thus far. I hope you have enjoyed my most recent creation, and I promise that my next chapter will be up before too long

next time: _Chapter 4: resistance_


	4. Rebellion

I'm really sorry for the obvious lack of content coming out of me for the last two or three… months, but I'm back and I'm ready to kill off this freaking Megaman project so that I can move on to bigger and better things… and trust me, when I say **bigger and better things**… I'm not kidding. In any case, let the good times roll with Zero and crew in chapter 4

Chapter 4- Rebellion

Merrick awoke from his slumber to hear a very unusual announcement coming from the intercom. An announcement that he had been waiting anxiously for, but had lost hope of ever hearing. Just the sound of this announcement was enough to put the star Reploid in a fantastic mood.

"_Merrick, this is doctor Cain, I need you up here in the control room now… the time has finally come"_

Merrick's delight at hearing this statement was obvious to see to every other Reploid in the resistance. Merrick was a member of a resistance movement started by a man named Doctor Cain shortly after the world's first Maverick, a red robot named 'Zero' killed the heroic Megaman, it didn't take Zero long to form an entire army of mentally insane robots and march on to dominate the world at large. This army became known as the Mavericks, and ever since that day they ruled over every man, woman, and child with the cold arm of fear. Several small patches of freedom fighters tried multiple times to assassinate Zero, but they haven't yet succeeded. Merrick was proud to say that he was a member of several of those groups, but the one he had stuck with the longest was Dr. Cain's hands down.

Something set apart Cain's resistance group from the countless others Merrick fought with, Cain was careful, discreet, he wasn't going to make a single move against the mavericks until he was completely certain that he had a chance to destroy the red Maverick. Many of the other Reploids in the movement thought that was the right way to go about things, but to Merrick it was just boring and a waste of time. Regardless of how bored Merrick got, however, the promise that he would be the one to eliminate Zero kept Merrick happily among Cain's ranks for several years. It was sort of a pointless promise, if Merrick were to be totally honest with himself, as all the other resistance members were pathetic excuses for allies that looked as though a flick on the forehead would send them to the scrap heap. They were far from unreliable, so Merrick was automatically the natural choice.

But for Merrick, this was cause to develop an ego that he was the single most talented warrior ever to grace the world around him. In the years he spent in Cain's resistance movement, he came to think of himself as somehow superior to everybody around him, his 'allies', Dr. Cain, even the other Reploids who were too weak and useless to fight back for themselves, and especially those without enough strength to even retain their sanity… those who became Mavericks.

Merrick recalled the order in his mind several times as he walked down the halls of the decrepit and destroyed bomb shelter that the resistance was using as a base. He had grown desperate for a chance to send one of his many weapons into the pathetic metal hides of several unfortunate Mavericks.

He looked from side to side as he turned corner after corner. Everywhere he looked he saw something in desperate need of repairs, either one of the walls, or a door, or one of the other resistance members. He came to realize that trash was damn near everywhere in this shelter.

Merrick forced the door to the side as he stepped into a rundown laboratory with a keyboard and a somewhat large television screen covering most of the wall. This was the control room, a place where Dr. Cain ran the day to day operations of the resistance from the safety and relative comfort of his own room. The doctor looked over as Merrick forced his way in, his face revealed a mixture of annoyance and eagerness.

"Merrick, it's about time you got here, the day has finally come where we make our move against the Mavericks."

"Cain, you better not be kidding…"  
"How long have we known each other, Merrick…? Do I kid?"  
"… Good point"

Cain pointed at the screen, in particular a room with several red dots filled inside.

"Look at this, do you remember when we hacked into the Maverick's network and got constant access as to the whereabouts of their major members?"  
"Well, Zero's chip was just in this room, and it just vanished a few hours ago. That means he's either dead or shut down for some reason or another… and since you and I both know Zero just doesn't die that easily…"  
"So what you're saying is that this is our chance to slip in and destroy him!"  
"Sure… let's go with that, just open your ears and listen to the plan. I've packed a little present for the Mavericks… enough raw explosives to level out a small city. I want you to take our present, slip into the Maverick's headquarters **without** being detected… drop it off at the core and get the hell out, then just leave the rest to me"  
"So… I don't get to kill Zero?"  
"Technically, you do."  
"… Whatever… Just remember that while I'm on the mission, you're not going to call me 'Merrick' over the radio"  
"Whatever floats your boat, what was your codename again?"  
"Sigma"

……………………….

The looking glass reflected the bran new golden armor covering the large majority of Azoria's body. The upgrades seemed so foreign to the Maverick lieutenant, and for a moment, all Azoria could think about was returning to his old body, the one that he was used to. But Azoria was well aware that if his dream were ever to become a reality, he would have to hold more power, which meant upgrades whenever the Mavericks got access to better technology. It was for the greater good, and Azoria was confident that he would eventually get used to the new body, so he was able to tolerate the sensation.

Now that his upgrades were finished, and he was operational again, it was Zero's turn to get refitted. When reploids get upgraded, all of the memories that have built up over years of events are stored on an external devise of some kind. These memories, thoughts, feelings, everything that makes a person who they are then get moved over to a new shell, a new body. It was like dying and getting born anew. The main problem with this system is that in order to ensure there is no data corruption in the memory transfer process, the host has to be on shut down until the transfer is complete, which normally takes a few hours.

Without somebody to lead them, the Mavericks would break down into a riot in far less than the required time to complete a data transfer. Foreseeing this issue, Zero decided it was best to hold off on his own upgrades until Azroia got done, so that there was somebody around to ensure the Mavericks didn't go ballistic.

Azoria focused his gaze to the inside of the room, seeing his closest friend's body acting as nothing more than a slag heap on the ground next to a new model. Seeing this caused a great deal of discomfort to Azoria, making him turn away and focus his attention elsewhere. In the control room, there were several filled workstations as lower Mavericks were hard at work. Monitoring security systems, maintaining stability in the upgrade station, even routine checkpoint alerts, everything that the Mavericks did as a group was controlled by the operators in this room.

Azoria was just starting to think about how dull life was around Maverick H.Q. without Zero around to give orders when a large red blip appeared on one of the security radars. Acting out of protocol even though Azoria was aware of the blip, the droid at the station started blaring at the top of it's voice:

"Security breach! Security breach! Security breach in sector 3-Charlie, Security breach in sec-"

The droid cut short when Azoria shoved his elbow into the bots' head

"I'm already on my way there, begin evacuation procedures for all non combat personnel… My sister takes top priority"

The control droid began laying siege on the keyboard placed in front of him, commanding the Mavericks to perform as Azoria ordered. Meanwhile, Azoria seemed to split in two behind the panel, vanishing in less than a second.

………………………..

"_Forty eight… Forty nine… this is no fun… Fifty three…"_

Sigma was too busy keeping track of how many Mavericks he was slicing through that he had completely forgotten about Dr. Cain's brilliant strategy. He recalled something about explosives, and planting them and running away like some weak little coward, but he honestly didn't care enough to go with it. Plans like that were for those too weak to get work done with their own bare hands. As soon as he was inside the main headquarters, Sigma tore off the earpiece and started making his own plan… one that involved a lot more carnage and Maverick killing then Cain's had.

"That's far enough; fight somebody with a bit more bite to them"

Sigma turned around to the sound of the voice to see a Maverick in all golden armor standing behind him, in the Maverick's hand was an ancient looking metal longsword. If that was the only tool the Maverick was armed with, then it would fall like all the ones before it. Nonetheless, Sigma stood straight up, actually returning conversation with it.

"You plan on stopping me?"

"As a matter of fact… yes"

Sigma and the Maverick then stood in silence for several seconds. Sigma was enjoying the moment of peace while the Maverick was sizing him up, looking for a hint at his combat style… anything he could use. After a couple of seconds, Sigma broke the silence.

"It'd be a pity to be killed by a stranger… So I'll give you my name, call me Sigma"

"A true pity, call me Azoria"

A few more moments of silence passed as Azoria and Sigma stared off, waiting for the other one to make the first move. It was Azoria who struck first, as he suddenly split apart and vanished in midair, reappearing directly behind Sigma less than a second later and slashing across Sigma's back. Sigma was caught off guard by this power, but he was able to twist himself out of the way of the slash, taking only a minor cut to his side. Sigma responded by drawing his own blade and slashing vertically across Azoria's center body. Azoria was quick on the counter as he parried the attack, grinding his sword along the side of Sigma's and striking at his hand. This attack was countered when Sigma twisted his wrist at the last second, knocking away Azoria's attack.

Sigma slashed at Azoria's arm as the fighting continued, but Azoria vanished in the same way he did before. Sigma's mind clicked into action and his body reacted the instant this happened as he recalled the first second of their fight. Without cutting off the attack he spun around to strike at Azoria, who appeared behind Sigma as he did the first time he used the vanishing technique. Adapting to the situation swiftly, Azoria vanished again and reappeared several feet away. It was blatantly clear that Sigma and Azoria were on equal ground in every sense of the word, their fight would likely last a very… very long time.

…………………………..

"Master? Master Zero? Are you awake Master?"

Zero's head was fuzzy, and to say that he was disoriented was the understatement of the century. He could barely tell his left foot from his right from the foot in the center for the first few seconds he was awake. But after a few moments, his mind started coming together again, and the leg in between his left and his right feet vanished.

"The hell happened? Did you cut the cooldown cycle on the program short?"

"I'm sorry master, but we don't have time for a cooldown cycle, the base has... it's been infiltrated, sire"

"What? What happened while- urgh"

Part of Zero's shoulder suddenly shot out In furious pain, it was obvious from the still present disorientation, to the aches that were now starting to etch across his entire body, not to mention the lack of personnel outside of one beaten up service droid, that Zero's body transfer upgrade had been rushed.

"Somebody has breached the headquarters perimeter; Master Azoria is dealing with the situation as we speak"

"Is… Is Iris safe?"  
"Master Azoria distinctly made her top-priority"  
"Good…"

Zero began forcing his way out of the pod, despite the fact that every joint in his body was crying in agony. Before he could make it all the way out, the service droid began to support him.

"Sir, you are currently at 5.3% operation level, we need to get you out of here."

"… fine, I'll let Azoria handle this one…"

Feeling weaker than he ever had his entire time in existence, the Maverick leader hobbled out of the H.Q. with the support of a single, beaten up support bot.

…………………..

Sigma and Azoria clashed blades yet another time, neither of them emerging from the conflict ahead of the other. By this point Sigma had grown very accustomed to Azoria's vanishing technique, and Azoria figured out new ways to use the technique in creative ways to try and gain an advantage. So far, everything that either fighter threw at each other got beaten back. Suddenly, a small beeping sound rang out in Azoria's ear, telling him that Zero was out safe. He only took his eyes off Sigma for a moment, but that moment was all that Sigma needed to gain the advantage that he was so desperately searching for. In that instant Sigma burst forward, slashing at Azoria's sword arm.

The arm fell away from Azoria's body before he could respond, and the battle was over. Sigma slashed again, aiming at Azoria's chest, however, Azoria vanished once again, and this time he didn't return.

………..............

Project- megaman X

Project director- Doctor Light

Project statement**, date of entry-25sep90** "I fear that our time remaining here is short if this project ever actually needs to begin, as this is a liability measure for if anybody is ever able to defeat and destroy Megaman. The goal of this project is to re-create Megaman, making him as close to the original as possible, if new technology is available at the time of project start, it is to be used as a top priority."

Project report, **date of entry**-**04oct09** Construction has begun on Megaman X, the resources at my disposal are extremely limited, but I've come up with a method to obtain the parts required, and while it's not top of the line by today's standards, it's already proving to be far superior to the technology the original Megaman had at his disposal- **projected date of completion: 27aug11**

Project report, **date of entry-24jan11 ** Disaster struck the project today, as a breakdown in sector 3-B caused a major malfunction in Megaman X's stamina and damage reception. I do not have the materials at my disposal to repair the breakdown, so in order to compensate for the compromised systems I've laid out plans for creating external upgrade units: these "heart tanks" are to be broken down and worked into Megaman X's neural drive, increasing his stamina and endurance systems little by little with each tank. This was the best I was able to do with the materials I have- **projected date of completion: 14dec15**

Project report, **date of entry- 06nov11 ** My own personal systems are starting to shut down, and it's a miracle that I am able to remain conscious long enough to file this report, and make required arrangements to ensure the project survival. I failed in finishing Megaman X before my own life span's end. As a last desperate action I am leaving behind a small beacon with whatever energy I have left. Maybe someday, somebody out there will discover this hidden lab, until that day comes, I'm sorry Dr. Light… I failed you **–project on permanent suspension.**

**---no farther logs recorded--- terminating connection**

…………………..

The explosion at Maverick H.Q. was visible for miles, signifying Zero's defeat, and Sigma's victory. Zero watched in part shock and part anger as his fortress, his pride… his home was left to nothing but a cloud of dirt and debris. Somewhere deep in his mind, a part of him which he thought died long ago suddenly awoke.

"he… hehehe… ahahahahahahah!!!"

A familiar sensation rushed into Zero's mind, and the calm and logical leader that he had turned into over the last hundred years was destroyed in a matter of seconds, replaced by the bloodthirsty tool formerly used by Dr. Wily. Whoever was responsible for destroying his entire way of life… they would be made to suffer for their mistake.

**END**

And that's all I've got for part 4 of a 5 part series… Be prepared, as part 5 is on the way and will be here soon.


	5. Megaman X

And here it is; the end of the road… What happened to Azoria after his battle with Sigma? When do we actually hear about X, and why has it taken him four months to put up a single chapter? Well, the answers to the first two are below… as well as a lot of other cleaning up and fun stuff. So, without further ado, I present to you, the final installment in the _Project Zero and the rise of the Maverick hunters_ series, enjoy.

Chapter 5: Megaman X

"Is the red Maverick in there?"  
"Yeah, we've tracked him down to that warehouse"  
"Leave him to me; I don't want any more of my men getting hurt by that Maverick"  
"Very well, Sigma"

Without saying another word, Sigma stepped past the pair of Reploids standing hiding behind a barricade on the outside of a wrecked warehouse. These weaklings were supposed to be his allies, but all they proved useful for were cannon fodder when faced with Zero. No hesitation or fear appeared in his eyes as he entered the warehouse, it was finally time for him to face off with Zero.

The inside of the warehouse was even more decrepit than the outside. The roof looked as though it was a mere flick away from caving in, and the foundation beneath Sigma's feet proved even more unstable to stand on then the roof looked. It took Sigma less than a second to assess this, and almost as soon as he entered he was able to focus his attention on the enemy in front of him. The red maverick looked Sigma over as though he were prey, and he simply chuckled to himself. Not saying a word to spoil this moment, Sigma pulled out his blade, and got into a stance.

………………….

"Well then keep looking! The signal came from somewhere around here."

Dr. Cain had been on the trail of some very old radio waves for several months now, and without Merrick around breathing down his neck, he was finally able to take an investigative team out to uncover the source of the waves. One of the Reploids in the team had just gotten done explaining to Cain that they had been searching all day and not found a single trace of the waves. Finding the source of these waves was something Dr. Cain took extremely seriously, because the type of wave that was being sent out came from around the timeframe that Zero was first assembled, it was very possible that such old information could reveal some sort of hidden method for dealing with the red Maverick.

At least, that's what he told the investigation team. In all honesty, it had been so long since Cain had gotten out of the lab that he was desperate for some sort of sport, and such an ancient form of communication wave was a fantastic opportunity for him to get some fresh air.  
"Doctor, over here! I found something!"

At long last, the prize had been uncovered; the bunker that had been uncovered by the team may hold some old texts, maybe some outdated weaponry or something else of more value to an antiques shop than a fighter. Cain took the first uneasy steps into the bunker, and what he saw inside caused him to stop dead in his tracks.  
"Impossible… You, and you two too… I want everything in this bunker in my lab… every last scrap and paper."

…………………….

Azoria opened his eyes to find himself in a strange building the likes of which he had never seen before. The first thing he saw was a massive banner hanging off the wall, it had a large blue R panted across it, he had never seen the emblem before in his life.

"Ah, so you're finally awake…"

Azoria looked to the source of the voice to see a towering Reploid, He wore golden armor much like what Azoria had and he stood as a clearly powerful presence in the room.

"Who are you?"  
"My name doesn't matter, call me the General"  
"General? General of what?"  
"I was just about to tell you… Tell me something, does it please you to side with the Mavericks?"  
"I don't understand what you mean…"  
"You bring pain to innocent reploids with your actions, for the sake of bringing the land under the dominant hand of the Mavericks, would you rather fight for the sake of good? To preserve the innocent and destroy the wicked?"

For the first few moments, Azoria thought this man was kidding. Everybody knew that standing up to the mavericks was impossible, that's why Azoria joined their ranks in the first place, so that his blade would be able to end the violence sooner than it would without him, and he would have a land where he and his sister would be able to live in peace. Azoria constantly dreamed of the world where such a thing was possible, where he and his sister would find the happiness that they never knew since the day they came to life. To think that he could do this without having to harm the innocent was…

"You have my ear"  
"Glad to hear it. I want to create a military just for Reploids, a military designed to preserving its own safety and the safety of all Reploids, I want to create… the Repliforce"  
"The Repliforce…"  
"You have incredible power, Azoria, you would be a welcome aid to my ambitions, as the Colonel of the Repliforce… what do you think?"  
"…"

…………………………….

When Sigma finally emerged from the warehouse, he was certainly worse for wear. His entire right arm was missing and he had several gruesome gashes covering his body.

"The maverick… is in there, bring him to… Dr. Cain"

Without paying attention to whatever the two other reploids behind him were doing, Sigma began limping off. Something haunted his mind from that encounter, he had been unable to kill Zero, he couldn't bring himself to deliver that final blow. He himself was weak, he himself was one of the people that he so frequently referred to as 'worthless'. He realized in that warehouse as he stood over Zero's unconscious body that he was unworthy of slaying such a foe, as he had always built himself up to believe that he was the only one who was worthy of killing the red Maverick, only he had the power and the will to use it… and now this…

Sigma brooded over his mindset and his damaged body, allowing darker thoughts to take root in his mind.

………………………………….

At first, all he could see was a magnificent white light, his name was… It was Megaman X. And that was the only thought that filled his head, no thoughts other than his name, no memories other than that light… nothing but a mindless void of a brain. X then heard a voice nearby, he was able to understand what the voice was saying, but how? He had no memories of the words; he had no knowledge of sound…

"Welcome to the world of the living, X"

The world of the living, X understood that the words he heard meant that he was alive. He didn't fully understand what being alive was, but he was it… somehow. As if the action were second nature, X responded to the statement, making similar noises of his own, but how was this possible?

"What… who… why… Living?"  
"My name is Dr. Cain, and you don't have to worry… I shall teach you everything"  
"Every… thing…"

To X, the world seemed to darken once more, and he fell back into the slumber that he once was in.

…………………………………..

"You're kidding me!"  
"No Doctor, we recovered the body and brought it back, but Merrick was nowhere to be seen. We assumed that he came back here for repairs"

Doctor Cain stood over the mangled body of the red Maverick known as Zero, stunned to the core by both of the rash and unpredicted actions that his former ally known as Merrick (Codename: Sigma) had performed. First, Merrick rushed out on his own to hunt down Zero, and then he defeats him singlehandedly, demands that these two resistance members bring him back for repairs, and then he doesn't show up himself for the same treatment. Last time Cain checked, Merrick was obsessed with the idea of killing Zero, so why had he gone under such a dramatic change in attitude? To cope with the confusion, Cain didn't even begin to think about where Merrick could have possibly gone to in such horrid condition.

"Well… You did your part, I thank you for that. With Zero here like this, I'll be able to take a dramatic step forward in my plans to rid this world of the Mavericks. Zero will forget that he ever held such a powerful role, and he's about to receive something that he's never had before, a code of ethics implanted by yours truly."

As he said this out loud, more to himself then the two droids that also occupied the room, he looked over at a nearby table, on which laid the greatest gift he could ever dream of, a blue warrior who was in the process of getting basic knowledge implanted in his mind. With the red Warrior on the other table, Dr. Cain realized that he finally had a chance to prevail over the mavericks.

Now if only Merrick would show his face, too…

…………………………………..

_About a year later_

Zero returned to the lab from yet another successful mission, apparently a group of stray mavericks took over a city museum in an attempt to cause mayhem and destruction, the things that Mavericks were best at. Over the last several months, Zero had gone out several times to quell the chaos of the Mavericks. He watched as a military group formed out of what seemed at first like a ragtag squad of beaten down reploids. He watched as they grew more and more powerful, more capable of fighting away the mavericks. He had even had the pleasure of meeting the higher ups of the 'Repliforce'. Something about their Colonel seemed so familiar…

With the Repliforce becoming ever more reliable with each passing day, Zero's workload became less stressful, and he was starting to get a little bored, if he were to be honest with himself. It was because of his growing boredom that he was able to quickly take notice when the Mavericks slowly started getting more organized. Individual attacks were becoming memories in favor of group efforts. The idea of the mavericks actually having some sort of leadership seemed absurd to Zero, but if somebody were to actually take charge of the powers that the mavericks had at their disposal…

Bad things were on the way.

…………………………

"It's been about a year now since you first woke up. Because of your incredible importance to the entire world, I have been overly careful with your processing and basic phasing; do you understand this, X?"  
"Yes… But I think that I'm ready to go and begin my duty. It's time I started fighting, too"  
"Very well then, but you're just not prepared for anything overly dangerous yet. Compared to the modern technology at our disposal, you're an antique, so be extremely cautious when out fighting."  
"I will, but if I'm out there alone, how can I be as cautious as I need to be and still do good?"  
"Very good point… I have a solution"

……………………………

The time to strike had finally come, Sigma had spent the last whole year slowly building an entire army out of Mavericks, and at the same time he also did a little bit of recruiting to find a total of eight lieutenants that would lead his army to victory, not to mention upgrading his own systems. During this time, he hired a group of contractors to design him a specialized castle to act as a base of operations for Sigma and his army. Once the castle was completed, Sigma personally ensured that the contractors were… silenced.

What Sigma did not expect, however, was for a private mercenary to contact him. In the last stage of his plans and only weeks before he was ready for his assault, a powerful looking warrior in purple armor appeared at his doorstep, saying that, at the right price, he was willing to obey any order Sigma had. He went by the name of 'Vile', and he proved his worthiness to join Sigma's group by fighting his way into the central chamber… something Sigma attempted to make an impossible goal. Regardless, Sigma was very happy to count Vile among his group, and he was sure he would prove useful.

The time was now, for Sigma to reveal his dreams to the world.

………………………………….

Zero could tell that something was different with Dr. Cain from the moment he stepped through the door. The old professor's eyes were locked on a nearby monitor, where some crazed looking bald guy was making an angry speech. As Zero got closer, Cain turned around to address him.

"Zero, the maverick hunters may have finally met their match…"

During the last year, Dr. Cain had been assembling an organization independent from the Repliforce whose sole purpose was to eliminate Mavericks; he had given this rather small group the very creative name of the 'maverick hunters'. As he heard that they had finally met their match, all Zero could do was laugh.

"What? You're saying the last year's been cake?"  
"Not at all… But we've never faced something like… this"

Cain pointed to the screen, and Zero took another look at the bald guy, he was continuing on whatever angry rant that he was going on about.

"_I say again, I am Sigma… And I am here to bring the entire world under my protection, for too long have weaklings been trying to get away with their crimes, with their existence… I will fix this by ensuring that only those worthy enough, only those strong enough to contribute to the world, are allowed to live. Those too weak or too lazy to be of help, or those that are only a burden to the world, will be terminated. This is my judgment! And it will not be stopped!"_

"What? So he's going to run around killing lazy people? What a lunatic… don't make me laugh"  
"Zero, this is Sigma, and he is not to be underestimated…"  
"Obviously, I can tell that he's no wimp from looking at him… In any case, I assume it's my job to take him down?"

Something changed in Dr. Cain's eyes at that moment, as though he was remembering something important… Zero hated it when the old man kept things from him, which happened a lot.

"Yes, that is your duty, eliminate Sigma with as quickly as is reasonably practical, but I am nervous that you alone won't be enough to eliminate Sigma, so I'll be giving you a partner."  
"A partner? Do you remember what happened to the last unlucky soul that worked together with me?"  
"I do, and I believe that I have found somebody with the potential to stand as your equal when he is given time and experience…"  
"Oh really?"  
"Yes, allow me to introduce you to…"

A nearby door opened, revealing a warrior in blue armor.  
"Megaman X"

Something triggered in Zero's mind the moment he laid eyes on this 'Megaman X' person. Emotions started flooding into his mind; it felt as though he had met X somewhere in the past, as though X played a giant role in Zero being the person he was. Visions that felt like ancient memories came dangerously close to filling Zero's sight. Confusion swelled in Zero's mind, what was it about X that seemed so _familiar_? Zero had the same problem with the Colonel of the Repliforce, as well as Colonel's sister Iris… X, and Iris, and Colonel, they all seemed so_ familiar_ to Zero, even though he had never seen any of them before in his life. Zero shook his head violently to make the confusion and swelling go away, and after realizing that he did it, he was able to play it off with a believable act.  
"Forget it! I don't work with partners!"

X stepped forward, speaking in a reasonable and somewhat kind tone.  
"Mr. Zero, we will need to work together if we are to ever accomplish our goal."

Zero flinched slightly as a vision flashed into his head, he was holding up his buster to X's head… no, it wasn't X, it was much younger looking than X is, like a child version of him.  
"Zero!"

Dr. Cain's voice snapped Zero to his senses.  
"You will cooperate with X, and you will come to accept him as a partner. Because if you don't, you will never be able to stop Sigma!"

Zero turned his back away from Dr. Cain, it was clear that he had lost  
"Fine, but the moment he becomes a burden to me, I'm cutting loose and doing my own thing… got it?"

Dr. Cain's attitude eased a bit, and he stepped closer to the pair of Warriors.  
"Good, now listen, X, Zero, I want both of you to head into town. Sigma has already began his Coup de' ta' and is begin to take over the city. Fight them back and look for any leads that would guide you back to Sigma's base of operations… wherever it is"

"Understood, sir."  
"Whatever…"

With those words, both of the warriors vanished in beams of light, and they went off to begin what would be a very long and painful war with Sigma.

………………………………**.**

Say what you will about my writing, but I make damn sure I finish what I start. Now that I'm finished with the series, I would ask any readers to **please submit reviews** telling me what you thought. Please share with me what you think I could improve on, as well as your general opinion… I care deeply about what the readers think of my tale.

In any case, now that my Megaman story is done and over with, I can move on to bigger and better things, so keep an eye out for what I've got in store, I promise that you won't be disappointed.

Final thought: **please submit reviews**, I really do care about feedback and opinions… it's how I judge myself as a writer, peace out until next time.


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